India, the Second-Largest Importer of Australian Merino Wool, Can Seize Opportunity to Switch to Animal-Friendly Indian Homespun and Other Materials, Says PETA

Mumbai – PETA US’ international exposé of the wool industry in the US and Australia – the source of 90 per cent of merino wool in the world – shows workers violently punching scared sheep in the face, stomping and standing on the animals’ heads and necks, and beating and jabbing them in the face with electric clippers and a hammer. One lamb’s neck was twisted until the animal died. PETA US’ investigators also documented that the workers caused large, bloody wounds on the sheep’s bodies and stitched them closed using a needle and thread without administering any pain relief. According to The Woolmark Company, India is the second-largest importer of Australian merino wool after China. Merino wool is used by the Raymond Group for suits and by other retailers for knitwear, scarves and other clothing. PETA says retailers should simply use non-animal materials from India instead.

PETA US’ video exposé highlights just some of the cruelty observed by investigators at each of the 19 shearing sheds that they visited in Australia and at 14 US farms.

“Sheep are gentle prey animals who are petrified of even being held down, yet these sheep were punched in the face, kicked and stamped on and had their heads slammed into the floor by unsupervised, impatient shearers, causing them great distress, injury and even death”, says PETA Founder Ingrid E Newkirk. “PETA is calling on shoppers in India and around the world to reject cruelty to animals – and that means never buying wool and choosing animal-friendly options instead.”

Photographs from the investigations are available here. Broadcast-quality video footage from the US investigation is available here, and broadcast-quality video footage from the Australian investigation is available here.